Intervention
by DJCaiaphas
Summary: Chloe invites Clark to the Watchtower for an intervention.


The brownstones of the building were a blur to him. Moving at high speed only the corridor's vanishing point at the very center offered any clarity. The wind rushed by in a deafening roar as the air currents formed small eddies in the cavities of his ear canal. He had gotten a call from Chloe. An emergency, she said. She was her eyes and ears when he could not be around. His last remaining tie to life he knew in Smallville. Any distress signal received was high priority indeed.

The outer blurs grew brighter and more colorful as light danced from the stained glass windows beyond his peripheral. He felt himself slowing down to a near immediate stop. He wondered sometimes is such abrupt decelerations would wreak havoc on his internal organs. No time to worry about that now. He was here: the Watchtower. A domed structure reminiscent of a gothic cathedral, except crisscrossed with thick cables used to power the walls of screens that lined the facility.

"Chloe!" Clark yelled. "Chloe! I came as fast as I could."

For the first time, he noticed that Chloe was not alone. There was his erstwhile friend and fellow hero, Oliver Queen, nee the Green Arrow, dressed casually in a black leather jacket and faded blue jeans. There was also Zan and Jayna, nee the Wonder Twins, newer friends who claimed to be from Sweden and more than eager to follow Clark's every footsteps. They surrounded Clark in a half circle.

"Sorry, Clark," Ollie said, sounding that he really didn't mean it. "This was Chloe's idea."

Chloe stepped forward, wearing her crisp red trenchcoat.

"What's going on here?" Clark asked.

"Clark," Chloe said slowly, "I asked Ollie, Zan, and Jayna here because you need our help. You're here … for an intervention."

Clark raised his eyebrow. "Chloe," he said, "you know I don't do drugs. And even if I did, it wouldn't do anything with my kind of metabolism."

"It's more of a fashion intervention," Jayna said, nervously scratching the back of her ankle with the tow of her other foot.

"Fashion intervention?" Clark repeated incredulously.

"Look what you're wearing, Clark," Chloe said, gesturing at Clark's all black outfit. "Black trench coat…. Black pants…. Black shirt. Some of the less friendlier blogs are starting to call you…. What are they calling him, Zan?"

"Emo Blur," Zan replied.

"Yes," said Chloe. "The Emo Blur."

"Hey," Clark replied defensively. "The clothes help me blend in to the cover of night. I can help people without having them guess my true identity. It's functional."

"It's also unimaginative," said Chloe. "Do you want people mistaking you for Batman… or Neo from The Matrix?"

"Hold on," said Clark, wryly amused. "There's a Bat Man?"

Chloe shifted her eyes. "Forget I said anything."

"Does he dress like a bat? Because that's way more ridiculous than anything I'm wearing."

"DROP IT, CLARK." Chloe composed herself. "It turns out that Jayna is an aspiring fashion designer. I had her put together the outfit and Ollie … modeled."

Ollie stepped forward. He had, in his arms, a folded spandex and polymesh outfit in candy apple red and royal blue. "Chloe thought it would a nice, er, homage to your original identity as the Red and Blue Blur," he explained as he dropped the suit in Clark's arms.

"You realize that this is ridiculous," Clark said.

"Wait till you try the suit," Ollie said under his breath.

"What?" snapped Chloe. Ollie raised his hands innocently. "Just try it, Clark," Chloe said. "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."

Clark sighed. "I'll be in the next room over."

"Oh, c'mon," Chloe said, crossing her arms, "it's not like I haven't seen you naked." Jayna gasped, while Zan sucked in his breath sharply. Ollie, on the other hand, regarded the two coolly as if he'd known it all along. "No, not like that," Chloe shot back defensively. "I… had to dress his wounds once. In a sensitive area."

"Next room over," Clark repeated as he went through the doorway.

"Say," Ollie said, "can't Clark just use his super speed to put on the outfit in no time flat?"

"Only if he really wanted to," said Chloe.

"So why is this so important to you?" Ollie pressed. "If a guy wants to dress up like the Trenchcoat Mafia, I'd say we're far enough away from a timing standpoint where most people in Metropolis wouldn't get the reference. I have no problem with what Clark's wearing. In fact, you two kinda have matching trenchcoats now. It's cute."

"That's not the point," said Chloe. "A hero has to look like one. He has to inspire. He has to be trustworthy. A symbol of truth, justice, and the American way. If someone catches a glimpse of Clark, they should be thinking, 'Hey, there goes someone really … kinky,'" Chloe finished, seeing Clark re-enter the room.

The mostly blue suit clung to Clark's body, tightly following the contours of most of his body. He tugged uncomfortably at the sides. "Um, Jayna," he said, "were the … the red briefs … were they really necessary?"

"I think they're hot," Chloe said. "Turn around. Let me see you from the back."

"I don't think I will," Clark said bashfully.

"Did you try them with the cape?" Jayna asked. "Everything comes together much better when you put the cape on."

"That was a cape?" Clark said. "I thought that was some extra fabric that got tossed in the pile."

"It… does look a lot better with the cape," Jayna insisted.

Clark smiled. He really was not confident wearing this costume, but he couldn't crush the dreams of someone so enthusiastic. "Don't worry," he said reassuringly, "I'll try it on."

"It is really colorful, sis," Zan commented.

"And that's how we want it to be," said Chloe. "Clark, you said to me that you didn't want to be the guy lurking in the shadows and separate from humanity. This of this suit as a way to reassert yourself as Metropolis' hero."

Clark sighed. "You know I could never argue with you, Chloe," he said.

"Besides," chimed in Ollie, "Metropolis already has one dark protector."

"Now to give you a name," added Chloe. "The Blur is fine, but intel tells me that someone from Hammer Falls, Georgia, already has the rights to the name. And he's sort of a speedster, so he's going to win in a court of law."

"So," said Clark, "what are you suggesting."

"I am suggesting," Chloe said, "a total re-imaging to go with your new suit. Something epic. Something … super…."


End file.
